This final chapter of Deuteronomy concludes with the death of Moses.
“Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.” (v7,10-12)
One day each of us will conclude our time here on earth and we will graduate to being in God’s glorious, unobstructed presence. When that happens, all that remains of us on earth will be a legacy – how we are remembered.
Moses was remembered as “a prophet whom God knew face to face”, who “performed many signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to do”. When we are gone, how will we be remembered? Will we be recognized for our obedience to God as Moses was?
In this day and age, it’s unlikely most people would recognize us for our obedience as they did Moses – this culture does not applaud obedience to God as they once did. That being said, we are not here on this earth to please mankind.
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10) “But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.” (1 Ths 2:4) “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” (Col 3:23)
Even though most people won’t remember us for how we loved God and loved them, that is not the ultimate goal. Our goal is to seek God’s approval of our conduct, not the approval of people. Remember, it is Jesus who purchased us for God’s glory by redeeming us from eternal death. It is in God and God alone where our identity and sense of purpose is rooted.
My challenge today is to not allow people to prevent us from following God’s calling in our lives – if God is clearly asking us to do something, we need to obey, regardless of what people will think. Moses wasn’t worried about popularity, in fact, the people rebelled against him more times than I care to go back and count. Yet, Moses remained rooted in obedience to God – what will we do?
Father God, our Sovereign Lord and King, great and mighty is Your name. We bow before Your throne in awe of who You are, and in humility of who we are. Father please embolden us to remain firmly rooted in our obedience to You, without wavering. Father please help us to fear You alone, and not fear those who cannot cause us eternal harm. Father please give us spirits of willingness to serve, and self-sacrifice, so we would not seek the things this culture lures us to pursue – may we pursue You alone. Spirit, thank you for guiding our words and actions, Jesus, thank you for showing us the way. In Your holy name we ask this, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training